


Carve Your Name

by ohemgeeitscoley



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, I apologize to your dentist, Marriage Proposal, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:48:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27019822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohemgeeitscoley/pseuds/ohemgeeitscoley
Summary: Rey is a little sad that 'Rey Johnson' is too long of a name to fit on a pumpkin.Ben can’t help but think Rey Solo would work.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 42
Kudos: 261
Collections: Comfort Gems 2020, Reylo Readers & Writers - The Spooktacular Collection





	Carve Your Name

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Day 15 of the Spooktacular Collection. My prompt was Pumpkin Carving. I hope you all enjoy this. I had so much fun writing it.
> 
> As always, the biggest thank you to Andyouweremine for being the best beta and cheering me on through this and for that one day when I forgot how to use my quotation mark button. You're the best. I love you.

Rey’s phone is bright and shining almost directly on Ben’s face. He knows that she is trying to shield the light from him, he can see the way she has it tilted down and away from him, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s almost 2 am and she is still on her way too bright phone.

“Babe,” he grunts, tilting his head up to press a kiss against her bare shoulder. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

Rey looks down at him, she is half sitting up, her shoulders pressed against the pillows that line the headboard of their bed. “Can’t sleep,” she shrugs, running her fingers through his hair. “I didn’t mean to wake you up though, I can go to the living room.”

“No,” Ben says, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer to him. “You don’t have to do that.”

That’s when he sees her phone screen. She’s on Pinterest and all he sees is pictures of carved pumpkins with different levels of complexity. 

“You want to carve pumpkins?” He asks, smiling softly at Rey as she lays back down, turning on her side, curling her body around his. 

“Of course,” Rey answers as if the answer should have been obvious to him. “We have a house with a porch. It’s basically a rule that we carve pumpkins and decorate and give out candy to cute kids in adorable costumes.”

“A rule huh?” Ben chuckles as he watches Rey continue to scroll through the images on her phone. “I wasn’t aware that there were rules that came with living in a house.”

“It’s also our first holiday since we moved in together,” Rey bites down on her bottom lip. “I just thought it might be nice to start creating our own traditions. Like pumpkin carving.”

Ben grins, his lips ghosting over the back of her neck. “Pumpkin carving sounds like a good tradition to me.” 

Rey relaxes against him and continues scrolling through the images, saving some of them to a board that she has named ‘Ideas for me and Ben’.

Ben wonders what else she has saved. 

“I actually haven’t carved pumpkins since I was a kid,” Ben says after a few more minutes pass of just watching Rey save different pumpkins.

Rey pauses her scrolling, her finger hovering just above the screen. “I’ve never actually carved a pumpkin.”

It doesn’t surprise Ben to hear her say that. Rey had long past the stage of being shy with him about her past and what it was like to grow up in foster care. But that doesn’t stop it from hurting him either.

“We can carve as many pumpkins as you want,” he promises, lifting his hand to scroll down on her screen to the next set of images. “Some of these are… very detailed.”

Rey nods, and Ben loves watching her smile grow and the way her eyes light up with joy. “I really love the constellation ones. I don’t know if I can pull it off, but I definitely want to try.”

Ben’s finger pauses over an image of a pumpkin that simply reads ‘The Joneses.’ 

“That’s cute,” Rey says, looking at the image, resting her free hand against his. “Our names would be way too long though. I don’t believe Johnson & Solo is going to quite fit on a pumpkin.”

No, Ben thinks, but The Solos could.

“We could get three pumpkins,” he says, shaking his head slightly. He has had a ring hidden at his dad’s garage since before Rey even moved in, but he hasn’t been able to come up with the perfect proposal yet. And that’s what Rey deserves. A magical and perfect proposal. 

Maybe one with a pumpkin.

“We could, but…” Rey shrugs, nudging Ben’s finger away from her phone screen and continuing down the page. “The Johnson pumpkin would have to be much bigger than the Solo pumpkin. And I’m not even sure I can carve basic shapes yet. Let alone letters.”

“We could do Rey & Ben instead?” Ben offers, tracing the letters of her name against her stomach. “Perfect symmetry there.”

“Maybe,” Rey says, but Ben can hear the smile in her voice and knows that she likes the idea. “I guess we’ll have to see how many pumpkins we have left when I’m done massacring them trying to carve out a star.”

Rey hits the lock button on her phone and sets it down on her nightstand next to the bed. “I was thinking at least two pumpkins per step. So that’s about…. What ten? Twelve?”

Ben shakes his head, rolling over onto his back. Rey follows without a word, burying her head into his chest, and pressing her slightly too cold toes into his legs. 

“Eight. But we could put two at the top and two at the bottom for twelve.” Ben answers, twisting a piece of Rey’s hairs around his finger. “Maybe even get some of those mini pumpkins too.”

“I like that idea,” Rey yawns, her breath hot against his skin. “We’ll have to go to a pumpkin patch soon before all of the good pumpkins get picked.”

“Next weekend?” Ben asks, lowering his hand from her hair to run down her spine. “We could go on Sunday?”

“You hate going places on Sunday,” Rey teases. “You need a full day of doing nothing the day before the work week. Why not Saturday?”

“My dad needs my help at the garage,” Ben lies, making a mental note to actually tell his dad that he needs his help on Saturday. “They’ve been slammed lately.”

Ben watches as Rey tilts her head up and crinkles her nose as she looks at him. “Your dad wants your help at the garage?”

Ben has never been so glad that Rey's phone is no longer lighting up the room. Otherwise, she would be able to easily see the blush rising up his neck and spreading across his cheeks. It would be a dead give away that he is lying.

"That's what he said," Ben gives a small shrug, hoping that it's believable. "I guess I'm better than nothing."

"Weird," Rey mutters and Ben can hear the sleepiness in her voice. "He usually asks me."

Ben doesn't say anything in response. Instead he just keeps running his hand down her arm. 

He stays up awhile longer coming up with his plan.

🎃🎃🎃

"What in the hell are you doing?" Han asks and Ben hates for a moment how he can see him smirking without even looking at his dad.

"I'm clearly trying to carve a pumpkin," Ben grunts, throwing the small carving knife down onto the pavement. "And if Rey asks, you needed my help here this weekend."

"Right," Han laughs. Ben turns around and watches as he waves his hand in front of him at the empty garage. "We are very busy."

"Clearly," Ben says, turning his attention back to the pumpkin he had been working on.

He admits that he's made a bit of a mess.

There's pumpkin guts all around him and seeds scattered across the floor. There's at least four discarded pumpkins surrounding him.

He is positive he looks like an idiot. But he hasn't been able to carve the words 'marry me?' in a way that it is at all legible.

In fact, the longer he spends trying to carve these pumpkins the more Ben is considering scrapping this idea and coming up with another proposal idea.

Maybe he can try again at Christmas.

"So, you're finally going to ask her?" Han asks and there's more emotion in his voice than Ben was prepared for. 

Ben sets the carving knife down on the ground and turns around, sitting down on the cold cement.

"That was the plan," Ben admits and he can feel the tips of his ears warming. "But clearly I am not doing a great job."

"I mean," Han reaches down and picks up one of the pumpkins by his feet, "I can almost read this one."

Ben laughs, burying his head in his hands as he groans. "I just want it to be perfect. I've been at this for hours and I can't do it. How am I supposed to carve a pumpkin in front of her and make this work."

Han pats Ben on the shoulder and gives it a gentle squeeze. "You'll keep practicing. I hear the garage might be busy all week. I'll let Rey know I'm going to need your help."

Ben glances up at Han and gives him a small smile. "Rey was already pretty concerned that you asked for my help and not hers."

Han's small is wide and annoying. He tips his head back when he laughs. 

"That's because she's about a thousand times more useful than you around here."

"I know," Ben grins, unable to hide how proud he is of all of Rey's talents. "Besides I'm almost out of pumpkins."

Han doesn't say anything else to Ben. Instead, Ben watches as he moves around the garage, a look of determination on his face. 

The first thing Han does is start gathering the miscellaneous parts that are stacked on the table against the far wall of the garage. He moves them to the back counter until the table is cleaner than Ben thinks he's seen it in years. 

Maybe ever.

Next, Han heads back toward his office. He's gone for a few minutes and Ben almost gets off of the floor to start sweeping up the orangey strings of pumpkin guts and loose seeds surrounding him, but then Han reappears. 

He's noisy, bumping his shoulder into the door frame. Ben flinches at the sound, pressing his palms into the ground to stand and see if Han needs help.

Han just laughs though, he's carrying wads of newspaper in his arms, which he adjusts and keeps walking until he reaches the table.

There's a frustrating air of superiority coming off of Han while he lays out the newspaper down on to the table. He's smirking and Ben's almost positive that he hears him humming too.

He's up to something and he's feeling proud about it.

And yet, even watching Han move around and looking in drawers and cabinets until he finally pulls out an oil pan, Ben can't figure out what exactly he is doing. 

"Well, c'mon, kid," Han says, tapping his hand against the empty stool beside him. "You going to sit there all night or are we going to carve some pumpkins?"

Oh.

Han's offering to help him. 

It makes sense now. The table and the newspaper and oil pan for the mess.

Ben's not sure if it's the fact that his dad is willing to help him carve pumpkins so he can propose to Rey or that, somehow, with everything in their past, he and Han are at a good enough point in their relationship that Ben wants his dad's help.

But Ben's eyesight blurs a little bit as he's overwhelmed by emotion. He coughs, tilting his head down and pushing himself up off the ground. His breath is a little sharp as he tries to get his emotions under control.

"I only have two more pumpkins, Dad," Ben starts, grabbing the two pumpkins and balancing them against one arm and his side. "You don't need to help. I'm sure you have better things to do on a Saturday. Don't you and mom usually go to the farmer's market?"

Han shrugs, walking around the table to grab one of the pumpkins from Ben. "I texted her that I was helping you and that Rey was free if she wanted company at the market. She was thrilled."

Ben nods, setting the pumpkin down before going back to grab the carving tools that are still scattered across the floor.

"I'll need to go get more pumpkins," Ben says, sitting down after he lines the tools up at the edge of the table. "I don't think I'm going to get this figured out with just two more chances."

"Chewie's on it," Han gives Ben a tight smile, sitting down on the stool next to him. "And some beer. I figure if the three of us can't figure out how to carve some letters in a pumpkin, we'll just have to help you come up with another idea."

Ben nods. "Thanks, Dad."

Han pulls one of the pumpkins in front of him, holding out his hand toward Ben, giving a small nod toward the tools next to Ben. It reminds Ben of when he was little and would come to the garage with Han. Ben doesn't think he ever handed him the right tool the first time, but Han never seemed to mind.

Ben grabs the larger knife and hands it to Han.

"Now, have you been free carving? Or have you tried tracing?" Han asks while he begins cutting into the top of the pumpkin.

"Free carving," Ben answers, noticing then the various sized black sharpies on the table that Han must have grabbed. "I mean, I think Rey might notice if I have the words 'marry me' traced on a pumpkin when we begin."

Han shakes his head, his laughter just barely audible.

"Yeah, she might. But maybe to start, you should try tracing the words first. Just until we get it figured out."

"Okay," Ben agrees, grabbing a thin point sharpie and the other pumpkin. "I guess that isn't a terrible plan."

"You just keep tracing, Ben," Han pulls the top of the pumpkin off by its stem and sets it down next to him. "'I'll clean them out. Then you can carve. We've got all the time in the world. And I told Chewie to fill his truck up with pumpkins. Take your time."

Ben lets out a deep breath before giving Han a small nod. He steadies his hand and starts tracing. 

🎃🎃🎃

The next Saturday, Ben and Rey go to the pumpkin patch. Rey doesn’t mention how much extra time Ben has been spending with his dad at the garage, which Ben thinks is a small miracle. He imagines he owes his mom some flowers or a gift card since she has been calling and inviting Rey out for random events. He assumes that Han mentioned to her what Ben was working on and she was probably more than thrilled to help.

Actually, Ben finds it a little funny that Leia hasn’t called him to grill him for details.

Another thing he probably needs to add to the ever growing list of things to thank Han for.

He’s going to ask her tonight. He’s been a bundle of nerves since they woke up and it really hit Ben that this was it. No more practice runs, not that he needed them as badly anymore. He is a little proud of how easy he can carve letters into pumpkins at this point. 

Not that it’s a skill that is particularly useful. 

But it will be important tonight. And that’s all that really matters.

Rey is grabbing the second box of pumpkins from the back of their car. Her blue jeans rest low on her hips, he can see the white tank top she threw on under her black sweater peeking out as she makes her way toward the house. 

She’s absolutely breathtaking. 

“I can’t believe we actually bought this many pumpkins, Ben,” Rey giggles, setting the box on the porch next to the box he is slowly working on emptying. “This might be a little overboard.”

Ben doesn’t necessarily disagree, they have a lot of pumpkins. But every time Rey would hold one up and mention how the surface was perfect for carving, or how she liked the lopsidedness and slightly bumpy texture, Ben couldn’t find a reason to tell her no.

He’d found the perfect pumpkin half an hour in, it was big enough that he didn’t need to worry so much about making sure the letters weren’t sized too big. It was a little bumpy on one side, but the other was a little stretched out and flat before it curved around. The stem was shorter, but wide and he could easily rest the ring on it.

“Maybe,” Ben finally says, pulling out the smaller, decorative pumpkins that came in various colors from the box and setting them down on the step below him. “But I think it’s not a bad way to start a tradition. A little over the top, we’ll be able to reign it in next year.”

“Right,” Rey rolls her eyes and gives him a teasing smile. “Next year, we’ll definitely be bringing home less pumpkins, not more.”

“”If you want more pumpkins next year, we might have to go to two different pumpkins patches.”

“I could be convinced,” Rey grins, bending down to grab a few of the medium sized pumpkins and setting them down along the porch rail. “That means twice the caramel apples and apple cider.”

Ben shakes his head and doesn’t mention that Rey had eaten two caramel apples, pumpkin donuts, and at least a gallon of apple cider while they were at the pumpkin patch.

“Do you want to carve out here?” Ben asks, gesturing around the porch. “Or do you want to go inside?”

“Out here’s good,” Rey answers. “It’s still nice out and we have a while before the sun is supposed to set. Might as well enjoy the time outside while we can. I’ll go grab a bowl and the carving kits.”

Ben smiles as Rey leans down and kisses the top of his head before she heads inside. 

Ben uses the time that Rey is inside to check his cell phone. He has one text message from Chewie telling him good luck and five messages from Han with pictures of his best carved pumpkins from the last week in case he needs a reference, and one from Leia that says Han just showed her all of the pictures and that she’s proud of him.

Ben starts grabbing the rest of the pumpkins out of the boxes and lines them up in the middle of the porch. He is working on removing the top from the third pumpkin when Rey comes back out, bowls carefully balanced in one hand, and different scraping tools in the other. 

She grins when she sits on the opposite side of the pumpkins, directly across from him. The air is a little chilly when the wind picks up, but Rey seems content as she joins him in taking the tops off of the remaining pumpkins.

“So how are we doing this?” Rey asks, blinking up at Ben as she pulls on the stem of the pumpkin in front of her. “An equal amount of pumpkins? Showing them off as we go? Yours are going to be way better than mine. Maybe you should do most of them?”

Ben shakes his head. “I only have plans for two pumpkins. The rest are yours.”

Rey furrows her eyebrows while she looks at him. For a moment Ben worries that she is realizing that he is up to something. 

“I wouldn’t have gotten so many pumpkins if you had told me that when we were at the pumpkin patch,” Rey laughs, rolling her eyes a bit before grabbing another pumpkin.

Ben sighs, hoping that it sounds more adoring than out of relief. “It’ll be good practice. I’d start with the easier designs you picked out and work up to the harder ones.”

“Right,” Rey stares at him and he loves how annoyed she manages to look for just a moment before she’s laughing again. “Just keep flaunting your years of pumpkin carving experience in my face.”

It isn’t until that moment that Ben realizes that while his parents have been great so far that they are absolutely going to tell Rey about the hours he spent carving pumpkins to make this happen. 

That’s something he is never going to live down.

There’s a comfortable silence as Ben and Rey begin working on scrapping out the pumpkin guts and pulling the seeds from the orange strings. Ben laughs every time Rey crinkles her nose and complains that no one told her how much work went into getting a pumpkin ready to be carved.

It takes longer than Ben thought it would to get all of the pumpkins scraped and cleaned and ready to be carved. The sun has mostly set and it is just dark enough that Ben is sure that they’ll need to have more light to carve the pumpkins.

“I’m going to go turn on the porch light,” Ben says, standing up and wiping his hands down across his jeans. “And maybe get some candles?”

“We could just go inside?” Rey offers. She’s already working on carving her first pumpkin. A simple jack-o’-lantern, with the classic triangle eyes and smile. He can tell by her lines that she’s a little hesitant in her cuts, they waver at the edges and the shapes are a little lopsided and mismatched.

It’s the perfect first pumpkin, he thinks.

“No,” Ben answers, taking a few steps backward toward the door. “It makes the most sense to do this outside. Otherwise we’re dragging the pumpkins in, just to drag them back outside when we are done.”

Ben doesn’t add that he had spent most of the previous day putting up string lights across the porch. They were the cheesy lights that he always wanted when he was a kid, but that didn’t quite fit his mom’s desire to have a clear plan and classy decorations, if any, up in the yard. Strings with pumpkins, ghosts, witches hats, skeletons and bats. 

Rey just shrugs, giving him another strange look before going back to focus on her pumpkin.

He’s pretty positive she knows he’s up to something. 

It doesn’t take him long inside to find the bag of candles he had set aside earlier in the day. The bag is full of various sized candles, from tea light ones for the pumpkins, to larger votives in oranges and blacks to go along with the Halloween theme of the night.

When he goes outside and flips on the switch for the porch lights, he doesn’t have to wait long for Rey’s reaction.

“When--” She starts to ask, looking around at the bright lights lining the inside of the porch. “How did I not notice these?”

Ben snorts, setting the candles around the porch, dropping a kiss to Rey’s shoulder when he sets a few down next to her. “Sweetheart, I could have painted the entire porch and it probably would have taken you a week to notice.”

Rey crinkles her nose, sticking her tongue out a bit as she glares at him. 

“I’m not that oblivious,” Rey argues, but Ben can tell by the laughter in her voice that she knows that she really can be. “Not all the time anyway.”

Ben hums his agreement while he finishes lighting the candles that he has spread out across the railing of the porch. 

“I definitely would notice if you painted the porch,” Rey says when Ben sits back down across from her. “At least, I would notice within a few days. Not an entire week.”

Ben just stares at her.

“Okay, fine.” Rey sighs, biting down on the bottom of her lip. “Maybe a week.”

“Definitely a week.” Ben grins. “I still love you though.”

“I love,” Rey starts, her eyes wide as she sets the lid to the left of her onto the top of her pumpkin. “These lights,” she finishes, giggling a bit.

She turns the pumpkin around for Ben to see. 

“I think a six year old could do a better job,” Rey admits, shrugging her shoulders a bit. “I really don’t want to think about how the rest of these are going to turn out.”

Ben reaches for the pumpkin, he squeezes Rey’s hand before he holds the pumpkin up to his face to look at it.

“Hmmm,” Ben starts, taping his finger on top of the stem. “I think you’re being too hard on yourself. Plus, you did this free handed. You have stencils for the other ones. They are going to be great. Just trust yourself. And remember: this is supposed to be fun.”

Ben makes the first slice into the pumpkin, carefully maneuvering the tiny carving knife to form the first letter. 

He’s a little nervous to start with the pumpkin that will read The Solos. It feels like he might be jinxing the whole night by persumming that Rey is going to say yes when he asks her to marry him. There’s also the risk that Rey might get up or get impatient and look at the pumpkin before he’s actually asked her. 

She’d have questions, he’s sure.

He’s not really sure what kind of an answer he would have.

And yet, it feels right carving that pumpkin first, the one he wants to turn around after she’s said yes. The pumpkin that represents the picture that triggered this whole idea for a proposal.

So he keeps going. 

“Look at you over there with your fancy free hand skills,” Rey says, pulling Ben’s attention from the pumpkin.

So far, he’s successfully carved the word ‘the’ at the top of the pumpkin, and he’s half way through the first heart off to the right of the word.

With all of his planning, Ben never considered what he would do if Rey finished carving all of her pumpkins before him.

He panics for a minute, before realizing that the chances of Rey finishing carving all of the pumpkins she purchased, especially with the more complicated designs, was never going to happen.

“What are you carving anyway?” Rey asks after Ben finishes carving Solo into the pumpkin. Ben holds his hands up over the letters he has carved right as Rey pushes herself up onto her knees to try to look at the pumpkin. 

“You’ll see,” Ben gets out, trying to ignore the way his heart feels like it is about to beat out of his chest. 

“A surprise, huh?” Rey teases, sitting back down. There’s a playful glint in her eyes as she holds her hands up in defeat. 

“Something like that,” Ben says. He grabs one of the small tea light candles and sets it inside, before carefully placing the lid back on top of the pumpkin. 

Looking at the final product, even Ben has to admit that it does look good. The letters are easy to read, the edges are smooth. The hearts are a little more crooked than he would have liked, but he’s pretty sure Rey won’t even notice.

Lifting the pumpkin up, he watches as Rey’s eyes light up in anticipation of him revealing the pumpkin. His grin grows as he turns his arms and sets the pumpkin squarely behind his back.

“What!” Rey exclaims, sitting up straighter and twisting her head to the side as if she could somehow see around him. “You’re not going to show me?”

Ben shakes his head, pulling the second pumpkin over to him. “Nope.” Ben gives a small shrug. “Mine are a set. That’s the second one.”

Rey huffs, pulling the pin out of the top of her pumpkin and removing the stencil. Her nose crinkles as she looks at the design.

“Well, I’m too impatient for that,” Rey admits, turning the pumpkin around and showing him the design. 

There’s a crescent moon that takes up most of the left side of the pumpkin, and an outline of a cat toward the bottom of the shape. 

It actually looks pretty good. 

“I don’t think I quite got it right,” Rey says, looking down at the image in the pumpkin stencil book next to her. “It’s supposed to be a little more flat at the bottom, and I think my cat’s ears are a little smaller.”

“Stop,” Ben interrupts her, reaching over to push the book away from her. He grabs her hand and rubs his thumb over her knuckles. “It looks great. You’re being too hard on yourself.”

Rey smiles at him and squeezes his hand. 

“What are you going to do next?” Ben asks, taking his hand back and starting in on carving the word ‘will’ into his pumpkin.

Rey reaches for the stencil book again and flips through the pages. “What about this one?” She asks, holding the page up for Ben to see.

“Creepy tree?” Ben nods. “I think that’s perfect.”

“And then maybe this skeleton,” Rey says, flipping back a few pages to show Ben the skeleton stencil. “And then maybe I’ll try free handing our names? Rey and Ben. I liked that idea a lot.”

Ben sets his knife down and adjusts the way he is sitting so that he can lean over the pumpkins. He brushes his finger across her jawline before kissing her. 

“I love you,” he whispers against her lips. “So much.”

"I love you too," Rey says, the candle light softens her face as she smiles at him.

Ben pulls back, matching her grin before he goes back to carving his pumpkin.

The ring is in his front pocket and all Ben wants to do is adjust the way he is sitting and ask her to marry him. 

But the pumpkin isn't ready and he didn't spend days at his dad's garage practicing carving these words into a pumpkin to spoil it all due to his impatience.

He brushes off the thought about the hell his parents and Chewie would give him if they found out he asked her with a half carved pumpkin. 

Rey finishes her next pumpkin just as Ben finishes carving the word 'marry' into his own. She is grinning widely, clearly more proud of this one than the last.

"I should stick to trees," she laughs. "I think I've got those down."

"It's good," Ben agrees, glancing up at her pumpkin before starting in on the next word for his. "And you were worried you had too many pumpkins."

"I still want to know what you have going on over there," Rey huffs, placing the lid on the pumpkin and grabbing the next. "It seems only fair that you tell me since I've been showing mine as I go along."

"You've been showing me yours because you have no patience," Ben laughs as he is hit with a handful of pumpkin seeds. "I'm almost done."

"It better be worth it."

Hoping that it will be, he answers, "It will be."

"You sure of that, babe?" Rey teases, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth while she grins at him.

Ben just stares at her for a moment. A small amount of his nerves begin settling the longer he looks at her. He can't wait to spend the rest of his life with her. All he can think of is making more traditions with her, years of carving pumpkins and whatever else she wants. 

He's never been more sure of anything.

"I guess you'll have to tell me," he finally answers, finishing the final cut into the pumpkin. 

“Are you done?” Rey questions, dropping her own knife to excitedly clap her hands. “Did you do the constellation one? I think we both know I’m not going to be able to do that one.”

Ben tilts his head to the side and looks at Rey. “You’ll see in about thirty seconds.”

“Do I get to see the other pumpkin first?”

“Nope,” Ben answers, placing one of the candles in the pumpkin. “That one is kind of the sequel to this one.”

“The sequel?” Rey laughs. “Only you would plan a sequel to a pumpkin, Ben.”

Ben just shrugs in response, reaching for the lighter to light the candle. He sets the lid on top of the pumpkin, taking a minute to look at the pumpkin, the words ‘will you marry me’ perfectly legible and lit up. 

“I need you to close your eyes,” Ben says, looking back up at Rey. “And you have to promise you won’t peek.”

Rey rolls her eyes, but obliges him and shuts her eyes. She even lifts her hands up and covers her eyes with them. 

“Thank you,” Ben grins, even though he knows that Rey can’t see him. He waves his hands in front of her, waiting for her to react. Then he makes the most ridiculous face he can think of, waiting to hear her laugh in case she is peeking. 

She remains silent.

Ben turns the pumpkin around, leaning over it to make sure that it is centered just right so that the words are easy for Rey to see. He moves the second pumpkin from behind him and sets it down next to the other one. He lights the candle inside of it, and makes sure that there aren’t any last minute adjustments to the letters that he needs to make.

He keeps it facing him.

Taking a deep breath, Ben adjusts until he is resting on one knee. He pulls the ring out of his pocket, and carefully sets it down on top of the stem. 

“Okay,” Ben breathes, his voice shaky. “You can open your eyes.”

Ben watches Rey carefully as she opens her eyes. At first her eyes are playful and there’s a small smile on her face and her mouth opens and he can see her almost say something playful about making her close her eyes… but then her mouth closes, and her eyes widen and Ben knows that she’s read the pumpkin.

“Ben--” Rey starts, looking up from the pumpkin to him. 

“I love you, Rey,” Ben interrupts, hoping that the tears he can see shining in Rey’s eyes are a good thing. “I want to spend the rest of my life loving you, carving pumpkins with you, making more traditions with you, building a life with you. Will you marry me?”

“Yes,” Rey says, talking over the end of the question. “I will marry you. I will absolutely marry you.”

Ben blinks. His brain trying to process that Rey had said yes. 

But then Rey’s in front of him, and she’s kissing him, her fingers running through his hair and he’s pretty sure she’s still crying, or maybe he’s crying. 

It doesn’t really matter.

He’s never been so happy in his entire life. 

“I can’t believe you carved a pumpkin to ask me to marry you,” Rey says when she pulls away, grinning at him. “That was incredibly over the top of you.”

“I wanted it to be perfect,” Ben kisses the side of her lips, then the tip of her nose. “You gave me the idea.”

Rey crinkles her nose. “I did? When?”

“Look at the other pumpkin.”

Rey turns her head, keeping her arms wrapped around him. “The Solos,” she whispers, turning back around and kissing Ben again. She’s smiling too much, and laughing, and it’s still a kiss that’s going to make Ben’s top ten Rey kisses list. “I really like the sound of that.”

“Me too,” Ben agrees, reaching around Rey to grab the ring from the pumpkin. “It’s a good thing you said yes.”

“As if there was a chance I’d say anything else,” Rey laughs.

“You say that,” Ben starts, reaching up for Rey’s hand. “But I was more than a little worried.”

Rey just shakes her head, pressing her lips to Ben’s cheek as she watches him slide the ring onto her finger.

“It’s perfect,” Rey beams, looking down at the ring on her finger. 

“You’re perfect,” Ben responds.

They don’t finish carving the rest of the pumpkins that night.

🎃🎃🎃

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi to me on [Twitter](https://www.twitter.com/ohemgeeitscoley) and [Tumblr](https://ohemgeeitscoley.tumblr.com/).


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